Recovery
by wolfiecaw
Summary: In which Shiho recovers in unorthodox ways [Shiho x Ann]


After Shiho gets out of the hospital, after she begins seeing Ann less, she makes an effort to stop by the convenience store almost every day. She buys the magazine Ann always models in, the most popular one. It costs her a pretty penny, but she's fine with taking out some money out of her allowance. She's gone so many times that all the different workers can recognize her. Shiho fears they recognize her because she only buys one particular magazine, but realizes it's probably because of the stupid cast on her leg.

Once Shiho gets home from her convenience store runs, she throws the magazine in a pile. Then she waits until 2 PM on Sunday. That's when the snipping starts. She looks through the magazines for every picture of Ann. Shiho has a binder full of those magazine cut outs. She hides it in a drawer with a post it that says "Do not open especially if you are Ann Takamaki!" stuck on it. On the cover of the binder are the words "Ann Takamaki" written in cut out magazine letters, just like the Phantom Thieves who saved her life do. Whenever Shiho feels down, she simply opens up the binder and is attacked with pictures upon pictures of her best friend in the whole world.

It's a little embarrassing, because a few of the pictures are of Ann in bathing suits. But it's just Ann, the only person who was truly there for her through everything. However, Shiho begins to notice some changes about her thoughts of Ann. At first, she brushes it off. _This is my best friend. I miss her and that's all._ Even so, sometimes Shiho would find herself staring at those pictures of half naked Ann and suddenly start to feel things. Her breathing would become uneven, her gut would feel weird, her chest would thump so hard it hurt, her pants felt uncomfortable. Shiho can't remember when it happened, but she knew she'd been looking through the binder when she realized she had a crush on Ann. Thus, she began writing poetry in the binder as well. Shiho snipped letters out of the magazine and arranged them into affectionate words. In clumsily cut letters, "I love you Ann" and similar things were littered in the binder. Shiho's binder became an escape for her. It gave her comfort, made her feel better about herself. Sometimes it made her feel ashamed, but what could the poor girl do? It'd been months since the last time she saw the one most dear to her. Sure, Ann called Shiho from time to time. But her voice wasn't enough. It simply didn't compare to eating lunch together outside, to hanging out after school almost every day, to be cheered on while spiking volleyballs. It just wasn't the same.

So when Ann said she'd be able to see Shiho again, her heart almost melted. She was so excited to see her! She had to make their reunion perfect. She had to dress well, and she _definitely_ had to hide the binder. When Ann stepped through her apartment door, Shiho's heart skipped a beat. Ann almost jumped on Shiho, giving her a tight embrace. Shiho gulped, suddenly realizing that hugs felt awkward. Their chests were smushed together. She hoped Ann couldn't feel her heart beating a mile a minute because of it.

"Come to my room," Shiho offered. Ann smiled and went along. They talked about many things, like school, friends, news, memes. They spent hours catching up. Shiho had been slightly anxious because the DO NOT OPEN drawer was in sight, but trusted Ann not to snoop. However, she was wrong. When Shiho left for the bathroom, Ann almost jumped to the drawer. She tore it open and— saw her own name on a huge binder. Ann's eyebrows furrowed. She flipped through. Pictures of her, everywhere. She flipped more. The farther she got, the more words she saw. Countless letters and vague wordings. Ann flipped until she found some straightforward answers.

 _Dear Ann,_

 _You won't see this but. I love you. So much. I want to hug you, kiss you, maybe even… Do dirty things with you. Aaaa, I wrote it out! Goodness, you don't know how many times I've woken up from the sweetest (or weirdest) dreams. And how every time I do, a wave of sorrow hits me. Because you're not here to hug me or kiss me or be with me. You're far away. I miss you Ann._

 _Sincerely, Shiho_

Ann does a double take. She doesn't know how to respond. She just tucks the binder back into the drawer and pushes it closed. Shiho walks back into the room happily, but can sense something has changed.

"Is everything okay?" Shiho asks. It takes all of Ann's willpower to not jump up and kiss Shiho. She knows she can't, because it would probably remind her of Kamoshida if she was rough. Instead, she mumbles, "I love you too." Shiho managed to hear it and her face reddens.

"Oh God, you saw the binder, uh, uh, FUCK, uh— Wait, did you say that you loved me?" Shiho begins to stutter. Her face remains in complete shock. Ann just smiles goofily.

"I'm both honored and a bit freaked out that you have a binder dedicated to me," Ann says nonchalantly. Shiho flinches.

"Sorry…" she replies. Ann laughs.

"It's okay, really! I… Um… If it makes you feel any better, I… Also kinda… Wanna do _things_ with you. I-If it's okay with you! With the whole Kamoshida thing and all, I can understand if you don't wanna," Ann admitted sheepishly. Shiho grimaced at the mention of Kamoshida, but then sighed.

"Are you blind, Ann? I wrote that I really want you like 50 times in my binder. Besides, you're not him. You're Ann. And unlike him, I love you. Okay?" Shiho reassured Ann. Ann blushed hard. Shiho giggled and pulled Ann into a soft kiss.

"Yep, you're definitely not Kamoshida."


End file.
